Walking to the Grand Bé at Low Tide

What it is

The Grand Bé is the islet in front of Bon Secours beach, at the mouth of the Rance. Twice a day, at low tide, it becomes a peninsula and you walk to it along a concrete causeway that the sea covers afterwards. At the top, facing the sea, is the tomb of Chateaubriand. It is the most famous walk in Saint-Malo and it costs nothing.

What you see

• Chateaubriand's tomb. The writer was born in Saint-Malo in 1768 and died in Paris in 1848. In 1828 he asked the city for "a small corner of land" on the islet, and on 18 July 1848 he was buried there. He wanted a tomb with no inscription, no name and no date: just a granite cross. A plaque in front asks the passer-by to respect his last wish. Erosion now threatens the tomb, so do not leave the paths.
• The defences. Vauban fortified the islet in 1689 and Garangeau extended the work around 1697. In the Second World War the Germans installed a battery with bunkers and trenches; American infantry took it by assault on 16 August 1944.
• The view. From the top you see the intra-muros rampart head-on, the Petit Bé on one side, Dinard on the other side of the estuary and the Fort National to the east.

When you can cross

Only at low tide. The tourist office reckons a window of an hour and a half before and an hour and a half after low water. The day's times are posted next to the Porte des Bés, in the rampart, and are in the tide table. At spring tides the window is wider and the beach enormous; at neap tides it is shorter.

Since March 2011, at spring tides, a "sonneur des Bés" sounds a horn to warn that the water is returning. If you hear it, turn back without waiting.

Getting there

Leave intra-muros by the Porte des Bés or the Porte Saint-Pierre and go down to Bon Secours beach. The causeway starts on the sand, next to the seawater pool. It is about 500 metres to the islet, and then an earth path and steps climb to the tomb. In all, an hour at an easy pace.

Leave the car outside the wall, at the Paul Féval park and ride, and go in by bus. Inside intra-muros there is almost no room.

When to go

All year, depending on the tide. At sunset, if low water falls at that hour, the light on the islands is the best of the day. In July and August the causeway fills up in the middle hour of low water; go at the start of the window. In winter, at spring tides, the walk is spectacular but the wind blows hard at the top: bring a coat.

With children, a pushchair or a dog

With children it is easy and they love crossing along the sea floor. With a pushchair, the sand and the steps of the climb make it hard: better a baby carrier. The islet has no facilities or shade; bring water. With a dog, bear in mind the city's beach rules in season and keep it on a lead.

Combine it

At the same low tide you can cross to the Fort National, on the other side of the point, if the tide gives you time. On the way back, climb up to the ramparts to see the sea surround the islet again.